In ice fishing, the selected depth for the baited hook or lure is determined by the position of a bobber on the fishing line. Some ice fishermen manually hold the fishing line and retrieve a hooked fish by the typical hand over hand technique. Other fishermen prefer to use the conventional short rod and a reel attached thereto. However, when a rod and reel are used in ice fishing, the fishing bobber cannot pass the eye on the rod when the line is reeled in.
Slip bobbers are available which permit the bobber to slip relative to the line when the hook is set and are intended to permit the line to be reeled in while the bobber remains stationary. These slip bobbers use stop elements on the line for holding the bobber at a predetermined position on the line. However, it is sometimes difficult to move a stop element through the eye of the rod when the line is being retrieved.